Full Moon
by Misu Niiroke
Summary: Another IchigoRukia moment...bittersweet.


Full Moon

* * *

The empty sheet of paper sat before her on the desk, the marker in her hand. She didn't want to leave without giving him something, even if it was just a note of farewell.

Kuchiki Rukia blew out a shaky breath, trying to rally her emotions. She couldn't help but let her eyes travel over the familiar room, settling first on the window. That was how she first came in, through the window…and then to the closet, where her bed lay, warm and safe. She then looked to her left at his bed, simple, pleasant and sturdy. Suddenly, he was laying there, his hand propped up behind his head, the other holding a book. He was reading with deep concentration, but after a moment, he glanced her way and smiled wide.

"Rukia…" his voice, that smile. She shook her head vigorously, eyes squeezed shut in disbelief, and when she opened them, he was gone. The bed was empty beside her.

Her head bowed, and she felt the strange sensation of liquid pooling in her eyes. _Ichigo…_

After a few minutes, she stiffened up, her head raised, a look of determination etched into the thin line of her mouth. She had to remain resolute. She would not involve Ichigo any longer. This was the price she would pay for what she had done.

Turning back to the paper, she raised the marker and slowly began to write, and all the while, a memory kept floating through her thoughts…

---I---

_She awoke with a start, her breath coming out in sharp bursts. She reached up to touch her face. She was sweating. _A bad dream? _She thought__ trying to rid herself of the anxious feeling she had. The pink ribbon around her neck…it had felt so real. And his cries still rang in her ear…She felt around in the dark for the closet door and gradually slid it aside. The air seemed less stifling once she did so, and she felt her heart rate slowly return to normal._

_She got up and walked toward the window by the foot of Ichigo's bed, careful not to make a sound so as not to wake him. She cast him a fleeting glance, taking in his sleeping form. He lay on his back, his arms at his side. His face, normally so scowling and angry, was smooth in sleep. She couldn't help but marvel at the difference, and feel slightly worried at how vulnerable he looked. _

_Turning her attention away from him, she gazed out the window. _

_The moon seemed to shine like a white amulet in the black velvet sky. She was captivated by it. To be sure, she had seen a full moon many times, but had never actually stood and really looked at it. Now, she __noticed just how much brighter the streets looked because of it, how much energy it gave to the night scene before her. She pushed the window open, leaning her elbows against the frame and continued to gaze at it._

_A rustling noise startled her from her trance-like state, and she turned to see Ichigo sit up in bed, his hair looking even more unkempt than usual._

_"Rukia?" He mumbled, still trying to fully wake up._

_She couldn't help but let a small smile play on her lips. He looked so childish, so innocent._

_"Yes, Ichigo, it's me. Sorry, I did not mean to wake you."_

_He shook his head while simultaneously stretching his long arms over his head. "Don't be," he replied, pulling the covers aside and standing up, giving her a questioning look. "Why are you up so late?"_

_She didn't want to tell him that she had woken up from a nightmare; so instead, she merely shrugged and said, "I couldn't sleep."_

_He smirked. "Bad dream?"_

_She flushed with embarrassment. _How could he know?_ She quickly turned away to look out the window, trying hard to keep her blush from rising up again. She heard him laugh as he came to stand next to her._

_"I knew it. What was it?" He sounded genuinely interested, but all the same, she didn't want to tell him. Her nightmares were only things she knew would happen once she…once she left this world. She didn't want to tell him those things._

_"I can't remember." It was a lie. She didn't want to lie to him._

_"Oh?" He sighed. "Well, at least it was just that, a dream, right?"_

_She turned to look at him then, and saw him grinning; his brown eyes were alight from the moon. She felt herself naturally smile in return. Even though she knew her answer was false, her smile was true. He made her feel so many things, and it was moments like these that she cherished._

_"Yes," she said, "just a dream."_

_He came to stand closer to her and looked up at the moon, just as she had done a moment before. She watched him __look,__ wondering what was going through his mind. Finally, she didn't need to ask, because he smiled softly, and spoke. _

_"My mother used to tell me a story about the full moon when I was a kid." _

_Rukia knew that talking about his mother was hard for Ichigo, so she tried to give him some encouragement to go on._

_"What was it? Tell me."_

_He put his hands against the sill for support, keeping his eyes glued to the moon._

_"She used to say that a woman was trapped in the moon for all eternity, and that before she was put there, she fell in love with a man on earth. The woman had to watch from afar as the man she loved waited for her to return. But, when the moon is full, she is able to leave her prison and come back to earth to see him for just one night. When the moon begins to wane, she has to return and wait for the next full moon…_

_"She would always tell me, 'You see that, Ichigo? The moon is full. The woman of the moon is reuniting with the one she loves.' So now, when I look at the full moon, I can't help but think of __her,__ and of that story…"_

_Rukia didn't know what to say. The story was so beautiful, and she felt she could relate to it so easily._ I too will one day leave this world, leaving behind a man I care about…

_She looked up at him, noticing that instead of smiling, Ichigo was frowning, his eyes looking hard at the moon. He looked so pained, so sad; she reached out on instinct and laid a hand on his arm. His skin felt surprisingly warm, and the touch sent a spark through her, straight to her heart._

_He looked over quickly, his eyes wide with surprise. _

_"What is it, Rukia?" She must have looked strange, because his concern was evident in his tone._

_She tried to wipe away all the bad thoughts. Yes, she would have to leave him, and yes, she was beginning to care for him, but she would not let those things bring her down. She had to be strong, like Ichigo. _

_She tried her best to smile as wide as she could. "Nothing's wrong. Thank you for telling me that story, Ichigo." She looked into his amber eyes. "Really, I will always remember it."_

_His expression of pain and sorrow from before seemed a distant memory as his eyes lit up at her words. "You're welcome."_

_They had stood there together for a couple minutes more, watching the moon climb higher and higher into the sky, and all the while, she had kept her hand on his arm, enjoying the warmth that it gave off, and the strength that it gave her…_

---I---

Rukia finished her good-bye note with the drawing of a bunny in the bottom left corner before signing it. She had to hand it to herself; even in the midst of her grief at leaving, she still managed to retain her sense of humor. She stared down at the note, reviewing its contents once more. It was simple, and left no signs of regret or any other feeling. _Hopefully, he will read it and th__ink I have forgotten him. Then,__ he will not chase after me. Then, he will be safe__…_

She thought back once again to that full moon night. If only he had known what that story meant to her. Even if it was just a children's fairy tale, it gave her a small flicker of hope. She was like the woman in the moon, returning to a prison and leaving behind someone precious. But maybe, just maybe…some day, she too would be able to return to this world, and perhaps visit with Ichigo, if only for one night…

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AN: Another little moment…just something that came to me last night. I like thinking about the moments that aren't in the anime that could have been…I hope you enjoyed it. Read and review, neh? Thank you for reading! 

&Niiroke&


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